(April 14, 1938 – December 24, 2015)
Wheatland, CA - Ardith Louise Murdock Oakes, 77, went home to be with the Lord on Christmas Eve, December 24, 2015 at her daughter’s home in Wheatland, CA. She was surrounded by her loving family, the soft glow of the Christmas tree and music playing gently in the background – a beautiful and peaceful sight.
Born in Anderson County, SC, she was the daughter of the late James Aiken and Fleta Elrod Murdock. She was a graduate of Belton High School, Class of 1956. She then worked as a customer service representative for Duke Power Company in Belton for 42 years, retiring in 1998. She was a long-time member of Second Baptist Church Belton, where she faithfully served the Lord for many years. In recent years, she has been a regular attendee of Southcliff Baptist Church in Fort Worth, TX and Bible Baptist Church in Marysville, CA, as she split her time between her two daughters’ homes.
She is survived by daughters Toni Bibb Akin of Fort Worth, TX and Charell Bibb (John) Franklin of Wheatland, CAand stepsons Phil (Gail) Oakes of Homosassa, FL, Tim (Cindy) Oakes and Matt (Cheryl) Oakes, both of Iva, SC; grandchildren Angie (Jeremy) Alewine, Joshua (Amanda) Oakes, Galvin Oakes, Andrew Oakes, Collin Akin, Jayden Oakes, Jarrett Oakes, Celie Franklin and Anna Franklin; great-grandchildren Elizabeth, Christopher, Breanna, and Chloe Alewine, Easton Oakes and Cohen Norton. She is also survived by a brother, James Aiken (Bernie Lee) Murdock of Smyrna, GA and a sister, Andrea Murdock Shaw of Simpsonville, SC.
In addition to her parents, she was also pre-deceased by brothers Mac and Gerald Murdock and grandchildren Jon-Micah and Cortney Oakes.
Funeral services will be held at 2:00pm on Saturday, January 9, 2016 at Second Baptist Church Belton, officiated by Dr. C. Mitchell Brooks. Burial will follow at Belton City Cemetery. Family members are at their respective homes.
In lieu of flowers, Ardith requested that memorials be made to the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation at cff.org in honor of her precious granddaughter Anna, in hopes that a cure may be found in Anna’s lifetime.
Ardith lived and died believing the words of Jesus in John 17:16, “ They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world.” That is why she chose her epitaph to read simply, “Gone Home.”
Sullivan-King Mortuary